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University of Florida Levin College of LawThu, 09 Jul 2015 14:01:34 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3PIEC expert reflects on UF Law conference, 40 years of Endangered Species Acthttp://www.law.ufl.edu/flalaw/2013/03/piec-expert-reflects-on-uf-law-conference-40-years-of-endangered-species-act/
http://www.law.ufl.edu/flalaw/2013/03/piec-expert-reflects-on-uf-law-conference-40-years-of-endangered-species-act/#commentsMon, 11 Mar 2013 14:06:09 +0000http://www.law.ufl.edu/flalaw/?p=8456The following blog post is published with permission by Don Barry, executive vice president of the Defenders of Wildlife, who participated in the 19th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference at UF Law Feb. 21-23. The blog is viewable here: http://www.defendersblog.org/2013/02/reflections-on-40-years-of-the-endangered-species-act/.

Last week, I participated in one of the most enjoyable and illuminating environmental conferences that I have attended in the last 20 or 30 years. The students at the University of Florida law school organized and hosted a riveting two-day conference on the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and it resulted in a reunion of some of the legal and scientific pioneers who helped shaped the ESA into what it is today: the strongest federal environmental law in the country. I was asked to be one of the opening keynote speakers, having worked on the ESA for more than 39 years in a variety of positions in the Executive Branch, on Congressional staff and with the non-profit conservation community.

When I arrived at the Department of the Interior in 1974, right out of law school, and started working as a career lawyer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the ESA was only a few months old, having been enacted with overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress in December of 1973. Once on board at Interior, I had the incredible good fortune of being assigned the task of helping FWS draft the core implementation regulations that to this day guide the Service’s methods for protecting wildlife with the prohibitions and inter-agency consultation sections of the ESA. Given that 2013 is the 40th anniversary of the ESA, my part at the law school conference was to look backwards and describe the early years under the ESA, and then take a look at where things stand today.

There were several things that made this conference extraordinary from my perspective. First was the chance to listen to such iconic early ESA litigators like Zyg Plater and Pat Parenteau, now both law professors at New England law schools. Zyg was the attorney that took the famous snail darter case against the Tellico dam all the way to the Supreme Court where he won a resounding victory. His case set the precedent that federal agencies MUST avoid putting endangered species in jeopardy of extinction. Pat was similarly involved in some of the earliest, most important court victories under the ESA that reaffirmed the obligations of federal agencies to avoid actions that would jeopardize such iconic species as endangered whooping cranes and Mississippi sandhill cranes. In addition to Zyg and Pat, there were other riveting keynote presentations made by some of the country’s most renowned conservation biologists like Dr. Carl Safina and Dr. Reed Noss.

But the most rewarding part of the conference was getting the chance to spend time, as brief as it was, with the law students who had spent so much of their time organizing and hosting the event on top of their already crushing workloads at school. When I asked a number of the conference organizers what had motivated them to take this heavy responsibility on, and what had attracted them to the ESA, the answers were always the same: that they had grown up loving nature and wanted to apply their developing legal skills to help preserve this country’s disappearing natural heritage. To a person, despite a discouraging job market and crushing levels of debt coming out of law school, they hoped that they would be able to embark on a career of environmental law.

I am now in the twilight of my long and rewarding professional career and I often wonder – and sometimes worry – about who will eventually step up and become the new advocacy voices for our voiceless imperiled species, once veterans of past ESA battles like Zyg and Pat and Carl and Reed and I are gone? My time spent among the law school students at the University of Florida has now given me my answer: A whole new generation of advocates is ready – they are eager, they are committed, they care. Whether as future citizen activists in their communities or as attorneys for the environmental community, the Florida law school students and other wildlife activists like them across the country are ready to take on the challenges of the next 40 years of the ESA, and to leave their mark for conservation. This issue is ultimately about this country’s values as we stand at a conservation crossroads: one road leads to extinction, the other leads to recovery, and the choice that needs to be made is so painfully clear. It is reassuring to me – and should be to all who care for the future of imperiled wildlife – that the values that enabled us 40 years ago to commit so fully to protecting wildlife, are still present in today’s young men and women, and they will ultimately find their way to help this country once again make the right choice.

Tim Center, executive director of Sustainable Florida, standing, facilitates, from left, a conversation among Daniel Rohlf, an associate professor at Lewis & Clark in the school’s environmental and natural resources program; Amelia Savage, attorney at Hopping Green & Sams; John Kostyack, vice president of Wildlife Conservation for the National Wildlife Federation; and Reed Noss, Provost’s Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Central Florida during a panel on Feb. 22 at the 40th Annual Public Environmental Interest Conference at UF Law. (Photo by Maggie Powers)

By Lindsey TercillaStudent writer

More than 250 students and environmentalists reflected on 40 years of the Endangered Species Act at the 19th annual Public Interest Environmental Conference Feb. 21-23.

The conference, which spanned Thursday to Saturday, included multiple panel discussions, a workshop sponsored by The Florida Bar, and training opportunities for attorneys and those outside the legal field.

Tim Center, executive director of Sustainable Florida, facilitated a Friday afternoon conversation among a panel of speakers about the ESA’s future in Florida.

While the act has been a great tool in providing protection for many species, John Kostyack, vice president of Wildlife Conservation for the National Wildlife Federation, observed that the act has not evolved to account for species migration.

“The ESA is one small tool in a larger tool box,” he said. “Ninety percent of the force to change the act will be through economic incentive.”

Kostyack then posed the question of whether or not there is a happy meeting ground for how to change the act.

Amelia Savage, attorney at Hopping Green & Sams, assists developers in acquiring building permits navigating the regulatory process, the legislative arena, or a litigation setting with regard to environmental law. Savage provided a different perspective from the land development and construction side of the argument.

Daniel Rohlf, an associate professor at Lewis & Clark in the school’s environmental and natural resources program, focused on addressing sections four and seven of the ESA. The difficulty comes with defining an endangered species.

“It’s amazing that we still aren’t sure what an endangered species is,” he said.

There’s also the question of how much security we want for species biodiversity.

Classifying endangered species, amending the act, and accounting for a sufficient amount of biodiversity are all at the forefront of environmentalists’ minds. However, one major thing that affects the ESA and environment alike is our ever-growing population.

Reed Noss, Provost’s Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Central Florida, spoke about this growth in relation to new species and our duty to the environment.

“There’s a lot going on simply due to population growth and overconsumption that could lead to the extinction of some species before we’ve even named them,” Noss said. “We are custodians and stewards of the land. The land is not a commodity that belongs to us.”

Keynote speakers for this year’s conference included Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and award winning author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, and Zygmunt Plater and Patrick Parenteau, attorneys in the landmark decision of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al.– temporarily halting the completion of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in order to protect the snail darter, an endangered species of fish.

Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and award winning author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, addresses conference attendees Thursday as a keynote speaker at UF Law’s 19th Public Interest Environmental Conference. (Photo by Elise Giordano)

When the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, it proved to be a great step forward in showing the United States’ and Congress’ commitment to preserving our nation’s natural heritage and protecting native plants and animals from extinction.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the ESA, the 19th annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Florida Levin College of Law focused on the evolution of endangered species protection over the past four decades. “The Endangered Species Act at 40: Polishing the Crown Jewel,” was held this past weekend. The full story will be available in the March 11 issue of FlaLaw.

Keynote speakers for this year’s conference included Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and award winning author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, and Zygmunt Plater and Patrick Parenteau, attorneys in the landmark decision of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al.– temporarily halting the completion of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in order to protect the snail darter, an endangered species of fish.

The conference also included multiple panel discussions, a workshop sponsored by The Florida Bar, and training opportunities for both attorneys and those outside the legal field.

When the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, it proved to be a great step forward in showing the United States’ and Congress’ commitment to preserving our nation’s natural heritage and protecting native plants and animals from becoming extinct.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the ESA, the 19th annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Florida Levin College of Law will focus on the evolution of endangered species protection over the past four decades. “The Endangered Species Act at 40: Polishing the Crown Jewel,” will be held Feb. 21-23 at UF Law.

“I’m very excited about this year’s conference,” said UF Law Professor and Director of the Environmental and Land Use Law Program Mary Jane Angelo. “We are bringing in experts from around the U.S. to discuss the act’s many successes, such as the recovery of our national symbol, the bald eagle, as well as significant challenges we face in the future such as addressing impacts from habitat loss and climate change.”

Keynote speakers for this year’s conference include Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and award winning author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, and Zygmunt Plater and Patrick Parenteau, attorneys in the landmark decision of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al.– temporarily halting the completion of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in order to protect the snail darter, an endangered species of fish.

The conference will also include multiple panel discussions, a workshop sponsored by The Florida Bar, and training opportunities for both attorneys and those outside the legal field.

UF Law student and PIEC co-chair Chelsea Sims said the PIEC is one of the largest student-run conferences in the nation.

“It’s a great opportunity for UF students to engage with cutting edge issues surrounding endangered species such as the Florida panther, corals, sea turtles, manatees and more,” Sims said.

“Any student that is interested in learning about the status of endangered species, the role of climate change, or the interface of science and policy regulating endangered species will enjoy this free event at the law school campus,” said Rachael Bruce, UF Law student and PIEC co-chair. “Please come out and join us.”

When the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, it proved to be a great step forward in showing the United States’ and Congress’ commitment to preserving our nation’s natural heritage and protecting native plants and animals from extinction.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the ESA, the 19th annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Florida Levin College of Law will focus on the evolution of endangered species protection over the past four decades. “The Endangered Species Act at 40: Polishing the Crown Jewel,” will be held Feb. 21-23 at UF Law.

The event is free-of-charge for students and faculty. Register under “student conference” (the banquet still calls for a $35 fee).

“I’m very excited about this year’s conference,” said Mary Jane Angelo, UF Law professor and director of the Environmental and Land Use Law program. “We are bringing in experts from around the U.S. to discuss the act’s many successes, such as the recovery of our national symbol, the bald eagle, as well as significant challenges we face in the future such as addressing impacts from habitat loss and climate change.”

The keynote speakers for this year’s conference include Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and award winning of author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, and Zygmunt Plater and Patrick Parenteau, attorneys in the landmark decision of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al.– temporarily halting the completion of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in order to protect the snail darter, an endangered species of fish.

The conference will also include multiple panel discussions, a workshop sponsored by The Florida Bar, and training opportunities for both attorneys and those outside the legal field.

UF Law 3L and PIEC co-chair Chelsea Sims said the PIEC is one of the largest student-run conferences in the nation.

“It’s a great opportunity for UF students to engage with cutting-edge issues surrounding endangered species such as the Florida panther, corals, sea turtles, manatees and more,” Sims said.

“Any student that is interested in learning about the status of endangered species, the role of climate change, or the interface of science and policy regulating endangered species will enjoy this free event at the law school campus,” said Rachael Bruce (3L), PIEC co-chair. “Please come out and join us.”